AUBURN, Alabama -- One of college football’s most persistent myths is so deeply entrenched that it’s hard for fans and observers to see the simple truth behind an offense’s game plan.

Calling plays has little to do with opening or closing the playbook.

Auburn signaled in just 11 passing plays in 55 snaps against Arkansas last week – two resulted in sacks – prompting questions all week about whether or not Gus Malzahn and Rhett Lashlee walked into the locker room in Fayetteville, asked for a shredder and began maniacally ripping pages out of the playbook like a cinematic spy whose home office has been compromised.

True, the Tigers were limited some by Nick Marshall’s lack of practice time as he battled a deep bruise in his throwing shoulder.

But there was much more to the game plan than met the eye.

“We had plenty of things we felt good about in the passing game,” Lashlee said. “Even looking back, you’re thinking, Why not?”

By now, most fans may have forgotten, but Auburn has opened it up before.

Marshall threw 34 passes against Mississippi State, racking up 339 passing yards and making most of his plays through the air.

What has dictated Auburn’s run-heavy strategy since that game has been a combination of factors.

For starters, Auburn’s running game has been so dominant that the Tigers can afford to ignore some of the normal principles of play-calling in order to fit the tempo and pace of a game, keeping the ball on the ground to keep an opposing offense off the field and give the defense time to rest.

Under normal circumstances, if a team crowds eight and nine in the box, it’s time for the offense to take some shots down the field.

Except that putting eight and nine in the box largely hasn’t worked against Auburn since the Tigers’ bye week.

“It was very evident that they were bringing, after the first couple of drives, they were putting more guys down there than you could block,” Lashlee said. "(Our offensive linemen) were able to move the down guys to where, even if you sometimes don’t get to the linebacker, when the defensive lineman is in his lap that makes it tough. That gives the back more time to press it, make cuts.”

And with the way Arkansas was eating up time of possession, Auburn wanted to give the defense some time and protect a lead. Against Texas A&M, the Tigers did the same thing, only that time to stop Johnny Manziel, and against Ole Miss, Auburn kept it on the ground to give the defense rest against Hugh Freeze’s version of the hurry-up, no-huddle.

Malzahn calls it getting a feel for the game.

And it’s not just the passing game. A few staples of Malzahn’s past offenses, like the speed sweep, have been conspicuously few and far between this season, but even if certain corners of Auburn’s playbook may be a little less dog-eared, it doesn’t mean that Malzahn’s unable or unwilling to make those calls.

He’s just busy sticking with what works. Auburn ranks sixth in the country in rushing, 17th in total offense, and a passing game that’s better than most think ranks 31st in the country in pass efficiency.

“It's all about what a defense gives you,” Malzahn said. “As a playcaller, you've got to take what they give you.”

Malzahn might be being a bit modest in that statement. For the most part, Auburn’s offense is taking what it wants right now.